Lighting setting process is abbreviated as "light distribution". Although there are 100 different schemes and effects for lighting a complex scene by 100 lighting engineers, several principles of lighting distribution will be followed by everyone. For interior effect maps and indoor photography, there is a well-known and classical lighting theory called "three-point lighting". The author here briefly describes:

 

Three-point lighting, also known as regional lighting, is generally used for small-scale scene lighting. If the scene is large, it can be divided into several smaller areas for lighting. Generally, there are three lights, namely, main light, auxiliary light and background light.

 

Subject light: It is usually used to illuminate the main object in the scene and its surrounding areas, and to act as a projection function for the main object. The main relationship between light and shade is determined by the main light, including the direction of projection. The task of the main light can also be accomplished by several lights as needed. If the main light is in the position of 15 degrees to 30 degrees, it is called smooth light; in the position of 45 degrees to 90 degrees, it is called side light; in the position of 90 degrees to 120 degrees, it is called side light.  The main body light is usually accomplished by a spotlight. The author likes to set the brightness of the main light to about 240.

 

Auxiliary light: also known as supplementary light. The sector reflector is illuminated by a spotlight to form a uniform and non-direct soft light source, which fills in the contrast between the shadow area and the scene area, which is omitted by the main light, and between the harmonized and dark areas. At the same time, the depth of field and the level can be formed. Moreover, the wide and uniform distribution of light makes it a layer for the scene. The background color defines the tone of the scene. In order to achieve the effect of soft lighting, the brightness of auxiliary light is usually only 50% - 80% of the main light.

 

Background light: Its function is to increase the brightness of the background, so as to foil the subject and separate the subject from the background. Generally use floodlights, the brightness should be dark, not too bright.

 

The following is a simple sketch of the lighting settings for the area.

 

The order of light distribution is:

 

1) Prefixing the position and intensity of the main light;

 

2) Determining the intensity and angle of auxiliary light;

 

3) Distribution of background light and decorative light. In this way, the light distribution effect should be able to achieve primary and secondary clarity and complement each other.

 

There are several other areas of cloth lighting that need special attention:

 

1) Better light than more. Too many lights make the work process disorderly and difficult to handle. The speed of display and rendering will also be seriously affected. Only the necessary light can be retained. In addition, we should pay attention to the use of light projection, shadow mapping and texture mapping. It is better to use texture mapping in place of lighting. For example, in order to show the effect of bright lights in the windows seen from the outdoor at night, it would be much more convenient to use self-luminous mapping, and the effect would be very good, instead of using light to simulate. Do not spread light at will, otherwise the success rate will be very low. We should firmly refuse to reserve the lights that are not necessary.

 

2) Lighting should reflect the distribution of light and shade in the scene. It should be hierarchical and must not deal with all lights. Choose different kinds of lights according to need, such as spotlight or floodlight; decide whether the lights are projected or not, and the concentration of shadows; and decide the brightness and contrast of the lights according to need. If we want to achieve a more realistic effect, we must make some efforts in the light attenuation. Some lights can be temporarily turned off to eliminate interference and set other lights better.

 

3) We should know that the lighting in Max is surreal. Learn to use the "excluding" and "including" functions of absolute light to illuminate or project an object. For example, to simulate the lighting and projection effects of candlelight, we usually place a floodlight in the candle wick position. If this lamp does not exclude the projection of the main body of the candle, then a large shadow on the table caused by the main body of the candle may cause us a headache for half a day. In the architectural effect drawings, the method of "excluding" is often used to make the lighting not produce illumination or projection effect on certain objects.

 

4) Light distribution should follow the process from theme to part and from simplicity to complexity. For the formation of the lighting effect, we should first set the main style by adjusting the angle, and then adjust the characteristics of the light attenuation to enhance the sense of reality. Finally, the color of the light is adjusted to make detailed modifications. If we want to truly simulate the effect of natural light, we must have a deep understanding of natural light sources. It's helpful to read more books that are used up for photography and do more experiments. Lights are also used differently in different situations. In the production of indoor effect maps, in order to show a brilliant effect, the color of some main lights is often set to light orange, which can achieve the effect that the material is not easy to achieve.

 

In short, as long as we practice more and dare to practice, it is only a matter of time to master the essence of using light.